Audrey was happy for her. She was still dating the RAF pilot she had met a few months before. They weren’t in love with each other, and it wasn’t passionate or even physical, but they enjoyed each other’s company enough to have dinner or go to a movie every few weeks, when he had time off and she wasn’t busy. The other nurses teased her about it, but she didn’t mind. She would have liked to feel for Geoff what Lizzie did for Ed, but she didn’t. She and Geoff both wanted to see what life had in store for them when the war ended, and not get into anything too deeply before that. But they always had a nice time and good laugh when they went out. He had kissed her a few times after the movies, but bells hadn’t gone off in her head, and her heart didn’t pound.

“Maybe we’re just meant to be friends,” she said. He said it was a possibility. Neither of them wanted to make plans for the future, or stop seeing each other. What they had from time to time was enough for now, for both of them. It wasn’t romantic, but it was still fun. Lizzie was disappointed for her, and hoped she’d meet someone else.

The suggestion Ed made to Lizzie the month after Greg died took her by surprise.

“If we both survive this mess,” he said calmly, “why don’t we both go to medical school, together. I have no idea how I’d pay for it. But my mom seems to be doing okay. She has a decent job now since the war started, and all my brothers and sisters are out of the house now and have jobs.” Two of his brothers were medically disqualified from military service, and young male employees were in high demand. His other three brothers were in the army, but all had survived thus far. One of his sisters had married the son of the local butcher when he was home on leave, and her husband’s family could provide good jobs for both of them, and his other sister was a nun, so suddenly Ed’s burdens were going to be lighter after the war. “There’s talk about veterans’ loans when this is all over. And educational opportunities. I could drive an ambulance with the training I’ve had, but if I survive this godforsaken war, maybe there’s a reason for it, other than the fact that I love you and we found each other. And if you don’t go to medical school, Lizzie, it will be nothing short of a crime. You’ve got more medical talent than any doctor I know.”

“So do you,” she said, smiling at him. They were both reluctant to make plans. There were too many unknowns in their lives, and they were afraid to tempt fate. “And then what? Practice medicine together?” She loved the idea, but it seemed a long way off. “Where would we go to school? We’d have to practice in the country where we go to medical school,” she said practically. And she had to go back to Boston for her parents.